Johnson in $12bn bid talks

HEALTHCARE giant Johnson & Johnson is in talks about making the largest acquisition in its history, a takeover of US drugs group Alza for up to $12 billion (£8 billion).

Reports in America said the talks were aimed at bolstering the drugs pipeline and technology base of Johnson, a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The boards of both companies were scheduled to discuss the transaction yesterday. Johnson & Johnson and Alza declined to comment.

Alza, based in California, is tiny compared with New Jersey-based Johnson, which has a market value of $122 billion. Its top products are Ditropan XL for incontinence, expected to bring in $240m this year, and Concerta, a drug for attention deficit disorder.

The company has been regarded as being up for sale since an agreed $7.3 billion acquisition by Abbott Laboratories collapsed last year.